Making the European Union work
Issues for Economic Governance Reform
Between February and December 2010 the Bertelsmann Stiftung in Gutersloh, Germany organized a total of four expert round-table meetings under the title "European Economic Government – Managing Heterogeneity" in Frankfurt and Berlin. The immediate reason for the establishment of the working group was the rapidly developing sovereign debt crisis in Greece and the manner in which the European Union, the European Central Bank (ECB) and later on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were seeking to identify solutions to the unprecedented challenge brought about by the events in Athens. As this report was being prepared, events became more and more unpredictable, with Ireland becoming the second euro zone member to seek a multi-billion financial rescue arrangement from the EU and the IMF, thus putting even more pressure on decision-makers to act. The recent Franco-German proposal for a Pact for Competitiveness has not been included in the deliberations of this group.
The urgency of events has given rise to a broader discussion about the nature and future of economic governance in Europe. Increasingly, the need for a thorough reform debate about economic governance structures inside the European Union was seen by the Commission, the ECB and national governments as essential for the future of the integration process.